Category: Worship Band

Hey worship leaders! Ok so let’s talk gear. I like to be prepared. Nope. I like to be over-prepared! Haha! Just ask my tribe. They’ll confirm this. Honestly though part of good leadership is planning and preparation. In an effort to serve the people on my team and the ones in front of me I like to be in the habit of anticipating every detail as best I can. It’s important to have the musical tools that you’ll need on-hand. Eventually you’re going to show up at church and you’ll realize you have a dead battery, or you bust a string, etc. Or maybe you’ve arrived at a new place for an event or retreat or you’re leading as a guest somewhere and their setup isn’t quite what you have at home. So to avoid potential issues I’ve learned to bring a lot of my own stuff with me. Obviously, this list will vary depending on what instrument you play, and on whether or not you have other elements planned like tracks or pads. And over the years this list has gotten bigger as I’ve added new equipment or figured out the hard way that there was something I missed.

I lead on an acoustic guitar and generally run pads too, so with that in mind, this is my current list.

Um.. my guitar. Obviously. haha! But actually if I’m going to be the only acoustic player then I’ll also tend to bring along a spare guitar. This is especially true if I’m going to be out-of-town.

Guitar Stand… nearly everywhere I go they have guitar stands. That said, I’ve been places where there weren’t enough of them for the entire team. But even if there are, I bring my own anyway because, well, I really like my guitar stand. I even take it to church with me every weekend just because I like it so much better than the standard ones we have on hand. Mine is this auto-grip stand from Hercules. The guitar hangs on it from the headstock. Which actually, over time, is better on the instrument. Plus the U-shaped base on the standard ones always seems to get tangled up with my cable and/or strap. User error on my part? Ha! Maybe. But this one is heavy-duty and suuuper stable, and for me was well worth the money.

A pedal tuner. Mine is the Boss TU-2. Plus an iSpot power cord. It can run off battery power too but I prefer to plug it in.

A wind-screen for my vocal mic. This is just one of those black foam ball sleeve thingys that slides right over most standard handheld vocal mics. They’re inexpensive and washable. I like them for a variety of reasons. They make using shared microphones more sanitary. So there’s that. But mainly I like them because they soften the ‘p’ and ‘s’ sounds, inhibit wind noise if you’re outdoors, and they allow me to sing right up against the mic without having to worry about bumping into the metal cover of the mic itself. Every time I work with a new sound engineer I always let them know that I’d like to use it and get their opinion on it. I’ve never had one ask me not to. Actually they all seem to prefer it.

Extra guitar strings. as alluded to earlier. Also a peg winder and needle-nose pliers/wire cutters.

Extra 9-volt batteries. And a battery tester. I’m in the habit of checking my guitar battery every time I’m leading. We have four services at our main campus (one on Saturday evening and three on Sunday morning)..and a dead battery in the middle of a service would be a major bummer. I unplug the instrument cable from my guitar following the Saturday evening service so I don’t drain the battery overnight. But if I forget… then I have fresh batteries on hand. The tuner pedal mentioned above can run off a 9-volt too. So if I end up in a situation where I don’t have access to plug it in, then I can always throw a new battery in it instead.

Speaking of instrument cables, I always bring at least a couple of my own, plus a patch cable for the tuner. Any cable can eventually go bad, but at least I know my cables are in like-new condition, and are properly re-coiled after each use. On occasions when I’m bringing my piano along…then I throw in a few more. If I’m going some place new and unsure of the set-up, then I’ll tend to make sure I bring along some longer ones too, just in case.

My iPad. Because whether I’m working with charts or just a set list, I use my iPad instead of paper. That said, I also bring along extra paper copies for myself.

I run my iPad hands-free so I also bring along my Bluetooth controller pedal. And the micro usb cable I use to keep it plugged in. It contains a rechargeable battery but I prefer not to depend on that, especially through a rehearsal and multiple services.

A mic stand holder for my iPhone. As mentioned above I tend to run pads, which I am currently doing from my phone..(you can refer to my previous post on the subject for more details on that..), so I purchased this mount so my phone is at my fingertips.

A male to male, 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch connector cable to connect my phone to the system via a direct box.

Lightning cables and a dual wall adapter so I can keep my iPad and iPhone plugged in.

Extension cords.. in two different lengths. (Mine have three outlets each.) I never want to assume that any place I visit will have an extra one. And you never know how far away the outlet is going to be…hence the two sizes to choose from. Also when I’m traveling I will tend to pack a power strip. All of these are black, btw. So they’re not overly noticeable or unsightly on stage..

A couple of capos. (in case one breaks…). Pro hack: in a pinch you can use a pencil and a rubber band and make your own capo. Haha! I’m serious! Personally though I’d rather have a spare.

I make sure I’ve packed my guitar strap. And bring along extra guitar picks! Somehow they always ending lying around the house in the strangest places, or still in the pockets of all your skinny jeans, except for the ones you’re currently wearing of course.

Don’t forget the chord charts for your team! At least in my case I’m the only one who’s paperless. So I print copies of the charts out for everybody else. Including for the sound engineer and whoever is running the lyrics. And one last tip: if your service is outdoors then place the band’s charts in thin 3-ring binders. Your team will appreciate it. And so will you when no one’s music is blowing across the lawn in the middle of the service. 🙂

I think that’s it! At least for now. Like I said before my list keeps growing and changing as I add new elements or discover new ways that I can be better prepared and/or better serve my team. I’d love to know what some of you have in your gear bags!

Blessings on you as you continue to serve our Lord Jesus by leading His people with excellence! ~ Michelle

Hey guys! A few times lately I’ve had other local worship leaders asking me about pads and how to run them! So I thought I’d give an overview on how I do it. It’s easy! And adds so much to your live sound. There are multiple ways it can be done but I’m going to touch on the method I use and am familiar with.

So lets start out with a quick definition. Pads are a musical element you add to your sound that fills out the empty spaces and contributes a bit of texture and an ambient, spacious feel that undergirds the live instruments. Pads are great as a bridge between songs, and can even stand alone for part of a song. Listen to the opening passage of Hillsong’s live version of What A Beautiful Name. The only thing you’re hearing there in accompaniment to Brooke’s lovely voice is pad. For each song in your set you pick the sound you want, – some are warm and mellow, others more bright and sparkly, etc – and the key you’ll be in and you’re good to go!

Ok so how to do it? Like I said before there are different ways it can be done and different sources for the pad sounds. I’ve got friends who use their laptop and run pads through a program like Ableton or even iTunes. One of my friends has the skills and the tools to create his own. Whatever. haha! I use Coresound and run the pads on my iPhone or iPad using their app: Pads Live. The app is free but you purchase the pads. You don’t have to use the app. Their pad loops can be run using a variety of programs and devices if you prefer. Here’s a link to their website for all of the deets.

Now let’s look at the tools and how I set up on stage. It’s pretty simple. In addition to my iPhone I also have:

a mic stand mount for my phone. Not necessary but preferable for me. I bought one on Amazon for like $15. Literally puts my phone at my fingertips.

a direct box to plug into. In my case I use two direct boxes, one for my acoustic guitar and the other for my phone for running pads.

a male-to-male cable with a 1/4in on one end for the direct box and an 1/8in on the other to plug into the headphone jack on your phone.

I also generally like to plug my phone in to power, so always keep on hand a lightning cable, adapter and extension cord.

And that’s it! The pad should be mixed in the House in such a way that it accompanies and complements. You don’t want it so loud that it overpowers. As far as setting up and using the app, I found it to be pretty intuitive. You add songs, selecting the pad sound and the key you want for each, then create a playlist (setlist) and add your songs! Then from within the set you press play to start the first song. When you’re ready for the next song all it takes is a single touch. In settings you can turn on the crossfade feature if you want, so you don’t get dead space between songs. The Coresound website has FAQ’s and tutorials available if you want to check it out.

I hope that’s helpful! We use pads with full band and I’ve also used them on my own with my guitar, and everything in between. They really are a great tool and easy to incorporate into your sets, and add quite a bit of depth and polish to your overall sound.

~ Lord bless you as you seek to serve Him and His people with excellence! Michelle